(bapt. Genoa, 23 Mar. 1609; d Mantua, 5 May 1664). Italian painter, printmaker, and draughtsman, active in his native Genoa and also in Rome, Naples, and Mantua (where he ended his career working at the Gonzaga court). He was versatile and prolific, and was unusual among Italian artists of his period in being particularly responsive to foreign influence: Rudolf Wittkower writes that he ‘ran through almost the whole gamut of stylistic possibilities in the course of his astonishing career’. In painting, his fluid manner owed something to Rubens, van Dyck, and Bernardo Strozzi, all of whom worked in Genoa, whilst his etchings are indebted to Rembrandt. His paintings are mainly on religious subjects, but they are often most notable for their superb treatment of animals and still-life details.